The Purge
by Crystal Draculura Bloodsucker
Summary: "Commencing at the siren, any and all crime, including murder, will be legal for 12 continuous hours." When the Sonic Heroes encounter their first Purge Night on Earth, everything starts out smoothly. But then, one hedgehog tries to take the purge head-on to show he's not afraid, but ends up a target himself.
1. Emergency Broadcast

_This is not a test, this is your Emergency Broadcast System. Announcing the commencement of the annual purge sanctioned by the U.S. Government. Weapons of class four and lower have been authorized for use during the purge. All other weapons are restricted. Government officials of ranking 10 have been granted immunity and shall not be harmed. Commencing at the siren, any and all crime, including murder, will be legal for 12 continuous hours. Police, fire, Emergency Medical services, and even Mobian heroes, will be unavailable until tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. when the purge concludes. Blessed be our new founding fathers and America... A nation reborn. May God be with you all._


	2. It's Legal, Sonic

**Chapter 1: It's Legal, Sonic**

Christopher Thorndyke stared at the clock, watching it slowly tick by through the hours of the day, the day of March 21st, to the hour of 7:00 p.m.

He wasn't ready for this.

He wasn't ready to tell his new Mobian friends that something terrible was about to happen tonight, and they were unauthorized to do anything about it. Interfering would mean immediate death for his friends, if they were unlucky enough to get away, but that was besides the point.

"Ugh, what am I gonna tell them?" Chris groaned, gently thumping his head against the clock, which read 5:45 on it.

"You know, watching the clock isn't going to make it go any faster." Ella told the young boy, mixing some kind of batter in a bowl. She was in the middle of cooking dinner for the household.

"That's kinda the point, Ella." Chris sighed.

"Ah." The housekeeper suddenly understood. "Worried about tonight?"

"As always, but this year feels worse than the others."

"Is it because of Sonic and the others?"

"Of course. I just know they're gonna want to do something about it, especially Sonic, but interfering will get them killed. I'm not ready to tell them about it yet."

"They're gonna have to know, sweetie." Ella sighed. "After all, tonight is the only night where it's legal."

"I suggest we tell them over dinner." Chuck suddenly walked in. "They have to know, Chris."

"I know." Chris sighed, then turned to look at the two adults. "Do you think we should let Eggman, Shadow, and Rouge know too?"

"That would be the right thing to do, Chris." Chuck agreed. "I bet Sonic would suggest it anyway."

"You're probably right." Chris nodded. "Alright, we'll tell them over dinner."

**…**

That night, at exactly 6:13, the entire Thorndyke household was sitting at the table, enjoying a silent meal. Even Chris's parents, Lindsey and Nelson, made an appearance tonight, but there was an obvious reason to that. A reason that none of the humans were ready to explain to Sonic and his friends.

Speaking of the Mobian Heroes, they were silent too. They had noticed all day that there was a type of tension today, and not just in the house, but the city itself. It seemed as if the entire city were in their houses today. Literally almost nobody was out, and those who were out, rushed quickly to get what they needed and head back home.

Something wasn't right today, and Sonic was determined to find out what.

"So… what's going on today?" The blue hedgehog cautiously asked.

"What do you mean?" Lindsey answered just as cautiously.

"I mean, today just seems so tense, and not just in the household, but in the entire city." Sonic explained. "It seemed as if everybody was trying to get away from something. I even saw all the emergency facilities, like fire, police, and hospitals, closing their doors."

The tinkling of silverware on plates suddenly stopped, sending the room in an eerie silence. The Mobians felt tense and uncomfortable. There was something their human hosts weren't telling them.

"What's going on?" Amy asked.

Chuck sighed and looked at Tails.

"Tails, can you use your laptop to call Eggman and his team?" He asked the fox.

"Uh, yeah, I think so." Tails stammered unsurely. "But, what for?"

"Does Eggman have something to do with this?" Sonic growled.

Chris looked over at the clock. It was already 6:20. The emergency broadcast will be announcing on the news in ten minutes.

"How long will it take you to get a hold of Eggman, Tails?" He asked.

"Just give me about five minutes to hack into his security cameras and I'll have him."

"Good, because in the next ten minutes, an emergency broadcast will be announcing on the news that you all should hear."

If the Mobians weren't nervous before, they certainly were now.

**…**

Five minutes later, Tails had contacted Eggman as promised.

The human genius, as well as Shadow and Rouge, were all visible on the screen. At the moment, the man wasn't too happy that his cameras had been hacked by his enemies.

"How dare you hack into my security system, you no good rodents!" Eggman yelled. "I haven't even done anything today! All I've been doing is trying to locate the last Chaos Emeralds!"

"Believe it or not, Eggman, but this wasn't our idea." Sonic spoke truthfully. "It was Chris and Chuck. They say that there's something important that you need to know about… that we _all_ need to know about."

"And what exactly is _that_?" Eggman sneered.

"I suggest you turn on your station to the news channel." Chris started. "In the next four minutes, a very important emergency broadcast will be playing that you _have_ to hear. It's for your own safety."

"An emergency broadcast about _what_ though, Chris?" Knuckles asked him. "You haven't given us any actual details on what this is about."

"It's about a very serious annual event that happens every year on March 21st, from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m." Nelson explained. "An event called 'The Purge'."

"The Purge?" Sonic frowned. "What is that?"

"... It was the Government of the World's answer as an attempt to decrease crime rate." Nelson sighed.

"... How?"

The humans hesitated, unsure if they should really tell him. Meanwhile, Eggman was shaking his head on screen.

"I heard about The Purge long before I left Earth to attempt takeover on Mobias." He sighed. "But I never thought they'd actually go through with it."

"But what _is_ it, Doctor?" Shadow demanded.

Chuck looked at the clock. 6:29. One minute left.

"Turn on the news, and all will be explained." He answered.

Eggman nodded and turned on the news. Tanaka quickly did the same and for a few moments, everybody was just staring at a blank blue screen, before suddenly, it began fuzzing out and a high pitched buzzing noise resonated on the speakers. Suddenly, the buzzing stopped and words began scrolling across the screen, being read aloud by a female voice.

"_This is not a test. This is your Emergency Broadcast System, announcing the commencement of the annual purge sanctioned by the U.S. Government._

_Weapons of class four and lower have been authorized for use during the purge. All other weapons are restricted. Government officials of ranking 10 have been granted immunity and shall not be harmed._

_Commencing at the siren, any and all crime, including murder, will be legal for 12 continuous hours._

_Police, fire, Emergency Medical services, and even Mobian heroes, will be unavailable until tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. when the purge concludes._

_Blessed be our new founding fathers and America... A nation reborn._

_May God be with you all._"

The Mobians were in shock. Were their ears playing tricks on them, or did that message just say that all crime was all of a sudden _legal_?!

"Huh," Chuck frowned. "That bit about the Mobians is new. Guess they changed the message so that the people knew that Sonic and his friends wouldn't be any help either."

"I BEG YOUR PARDON?!" Sonic suddenly screeched, making everybody in the room jump. "This is insane! Making all crime legal?! Who's idea was this?! Obviously, they're a criminal themselves if they think any of this is ok!"

"I told you, Sonic, it was the Government that came up with this." Nelson tried to reason with the hedgehog. "It's only for 12 hours."

"12 hours where hundreds, probably THOUSANDS of people will be KILLED, now that MURDER is legal too!" Sonic hissed. "This is an outrage!"

"Personally, I think it's a great idea." Shadow suddenly spoke up from the laptop. "With crime being legal, there's nothing stopping me from getting the Chaos Emeralds that are possibly locked away."

"Oh sure, you're ok with it, you bioengineered BASTARD!"

"Sonic!" Amy gasped, quickly covering Cream's ears, the bunny doing the same to her Chao. "Language!"

Sonic looked down to the ground in shame, his cheeks turning hot red in embarrassment. He's never cursed before, but this was just too much.

"I'm sorry Amy." He sighed. "It's just… how could this possibly be a good idea? I mean, I could probably understand shoplifting and vandalism… but murder? What good is there in killing?"

"People kill people, Faker." Shadow frowned in disappointment, memory of Maria being shot right in front of him playing once more in his head. "That's the way it's always been… you can't change it."

"Right, and with it now being legal tonight, Shadow, there is _no way_ I am letting you go out there after the Emeralds." Eggman firmly told the black and red hedgehog.

"What?!" Shadow hissed in disagreement. "Why not? This is a PERFECT opportunity."

"In case you haven't noticed, you, Rouge, and Eggman aren't exactly the most liked people in the city." Chuck explained. "Nobody but Sonic and his friends know where the Egg Fortress is, so you're much safer staying there until the whole thing is over."

"Pfft, I ain't afraid of The Purge." Shadow rolled his eyes.

"You will stay in the fortress until The Purge is over, or you can say hello to the cryogenic tank again for another 50 years." Eggman threatened.

Shadow humphed and crossed his arms, turning away from the doctor, but didn't say another word.

"So, there's really nothing we can do?" Cream sniffed, fear very prominent on her face.

"I'm sorry dear, but afraid not." Ella gently hugged the rabbit. "But don't worry, we're perfectly safe."

"How?" Knuckles frowned.

"We have steel security doors that lower over all doors and windows that lead to the outside." Lindsey explained. "As soon as that siren goes off, Chuck will run to the lab and push the button that lowers them."

"How durable are they?" Tails asked.

"Very durable, unless one Purger decides to try and rip then off with a chain attached to a monster truck." Chuck answered. "Tested the doors myself a few days before the first Purge. Haven't had any problems since then. Nobody really targets us anyway."

"Let's hope it stays that way." Chris sighed, turning back to the laptop. "We'll keep you guys posted on what goes on here, in case we hear anything about you guys."

"You know, I would actually appreciate that." Eggman nodded. "In return, I as well will keep you posted."

"Stay safe, Eggman." Sonic said to him.

"You too, Sonic." The genius chuckled. "Wow, never thought I'd be saying _that_ to my greatest enemy."

Suddenly, a siren started going off outside. It was loud and ominous, it sent chills down every spine of every person that heard it. They all turned to the clock on the wall.

7:00 p.m.

Sonic turned to Lindsey.

"Are you sure there's no place we can go where it'll be safer?" He pleaded.

"I'm sorry, but it's like this all over the world. The Purge is for _everybody_. You'd be surprised by how much the crime rate has gone down around the world since we started having The Purge. I'm sorry, but as of right now until 7:00 a.m. tomorrow, all crime… it's legal, Sonic." Lindsey sighed and turned to Chuck. "Lower the doors. The Annual Purge has begun."


	3. It's Not Right

**Chapter 2: It's Not Right**

It was only 7:30, a half hour into the purge, and already, the Thorndyke household could hear screams and gunshots coming from outside. It was horrible to listen to, and a little too much for a certain blue hedgehog.

"Where's Sonic?" Chris wondered aloud when he noticed said Mobian wasn't with them.

"He locked himself in his room when the screams started." Tails sighed.

The room was quiet as these news sunk in. They knew that this was gonna be hard on the hero, but just how hard was he taking it? Amy then sighed and stood up.

"I'll go talk to him."

"Are you sure, Amy?" Cream asked her. "Maybe it's best if we just leave him alone."

"Cream, he's a hero who can't do anything against the crime going on outside. He's upset and I love him. I'm not just gonna leave him to suffer in silence." Amy sighed then said to the group. "I'll be back in awhile, hopefully with Sonic." With that, the pink hedgehog started heading upstairs to the room belonging to her friend and crush.

When she got to the door standing at the end of the hallway, Amy knocked softly three times and waited. After about a minute, Amy was about to knock again when a soft voice spoke from behind the door.

"Come in." Sonic sighed, sounding completely crushed.

Amy cautiously opened the door and stepped inside the room. Sonic was sitting on his bed, turned away from the window that currently had a steel door covering it. Screams and gunshots could still be heard from outside. Sonic had his hands over his ears, his face buried in his knees.

"Sonic?" Amy spoke softly, closing the door behind her. "It's Amy."

"... Hello Amy." The blue hedgehog sadly greeted her, not looking up.

"Sonic, are you ok?" The pink hedgehog asked him.

"... Not really."

"Sonic, look at me… please?"

Sonic was silent, not answering his friend's request. After about a minute or so, he finally lifted his head and looked at her. Amy gasped at the sight before her. His face was distorted in a look of lost. His cheeks were wet and a rosy red. His eyes were bloodshot and also wet.

Sonic had been crying.

"Oh Sonic." Amy cooed, quickly wrapping her arms around him.

At this slightest bit of comfort, Sonic lost it. He brought his hands off his ears and wrapped his arms around Amy, pulling her close as he cried into her shoulder.

"Shh. Shh. Don't cry, Sonic. Everything's gonna be alright. Shh. Shh." Amy hushed in his ear, rocking him back and forth as she petted his quills back.

"It's not, Amy, it's not." Sonic sobbed. "It's not gonna be alright. All those people out there, being killed at point blank and I can't do anything about it."

"I know, I know." Amy cooed. "It's a horrible thing, I know."

"It's just not fair. Why can't I go out there and do anything? I didn't agree to this fucking purge."

Amy wasn't even gonna scold him for cursing this time.

"They just added us into that broadcast like 'Oh Sonic and his friends are heroes, let's make sure that they know they won't be any help. Sure, let's not even tell them about it until the exact night.'." Sonic growled, mimicking a retarded voice.

"Now, now, let's not mock them like that." Amy softly scolded, bringing his head up to look him into his bloodshot eyes. "I'm sure they had their reasons, Sonic. And you heard what Lindsey said. The crime rate has gone down since they started The Purge."

"But that doesn't make it right." Sonic gasped, staring back at her. "It's horrifying. Half of the planet could be wiped out just like that in just one night if EVERYONE was a murderer. Doesn't that scare you? Doesn't that scare _them_?"

"Of course that scares me." Amy nodded. "And I'm sure it scares them too. But Sonic, we're not from this world. We don't know how this thing actually works, and unfortunately, if it's the Government's decision, then we have no right to try and change it. This is not our world, it's the humans. And unfortunately, once we get the Chaos Emeralds and find a way back home… then we can't do anything then either. So, I'm sorry, but it's best if you just realize that now. I know it's hard for you, Sonic, but you have no choice. Just… try to tune out the screams. Come downstairs with us and be surrounded by your friends. We're all worried for you, you know."

"... You're right." Sonic nodded, sighing as he closed his eyes. "You're right. There's nothing I can do. I have no right to."

Amy smiled warmly and quickly pressed a gentle kiss atop his forehead, glad he didn't pull away this time.

"Everything will be alright, Sonic." She assured him. "It'll all be over in the morning."

"You're right. It'll be over in the morning." Sonic sighed and looked back up at her. "Amy…"

"Yes?"

The next thing Sonic did, Amy wanted to squeal, but under the circumstances, she quickly controlled herself. Instead, she closed her eyes and softly kissed back. She had been waiting years for this to happen. She had hoped it would've been under better circumstances, but hey, to her a kiss was a kiss if it came from Sonic.

Finally, after about ten seconds, Sonic broke the kiss and stared into the jade eyes of the pink hedgehog.

"Thank you." He said to her.

"Any time." Amy answered back.

Suddenly, they heard someone running up the stairs from the hallway. The footsteps then quickly started making their way to Sonic's room, running with urgency. The door quickly opened and Tails stood frazzled in the doorway.

"Tails? What's wrong?" Sonic quickly snapped into his usual self at the sight of his distressed brother.

"It's Shadow." The fox started. "He's gone!"


	4. High-Priority Target

**Chapter 3: High-Priority Target**

"What do you mean 'he's gone'?!" Eggman yelled at the white bat in his lair.

"I mean exactly that, he's gone." Rouge spat back. "I looked around the whole entire fortress for him and I couldn't find him. He's gone. Disappeared, like the shadow he is."

"Dang it Shadow," Sonic hissed. "Where has he gone?"

"That disrespectful, disobedient, poor excuse for an ultimate lifeform." Eggman groaned. "He must've gone out looking for the Chaos Emeralds after I SPECIFICALLY told him NOT to leave the fortress tonight."

"He's gonna get himself killed!" Chris gasped. "Once the Purgers find out he's out, he'll be their high-priority target!"

"Not if _I_ can help it. I'm going out there to look for him." Sonic announced, already making his way to the front door.

"Absolutely NOT, young man!" Lindsey quickly interfered, stopping the blue hedgehog in his tracks. "You are NOT going out there."

"But Mrs. Thorndyke I can't just leave him out there, he's gonna get killed!" Sonic gasped.

"And you'll be killed as well if you go out there." Lindsey retorted back. "It's too dangerous."

"Which is exactly why I have to go find him!"

"Why would Sonic be killed?" Tails asked. "There's no reason for him to have a target on his back, he's a hero."

"Exactly." Chris sighed. "Criminals HATE heroes, and I bet you can guess why."

"I don't care." Sonic hissed. "There's no way I'm leaving him out there. I'm going out there, even if it means I have to drill through the doors myself!"

"You're crazy!" Knuckles gasped.

"Maybe so, but I've made up my mind. If I can't help everybody, I at least want to help _one_, and if that _one_ has to be Shadow, then so be it."

Everyone was silent. They couldn't believe that Sonic was actually willing to go through with this, for someone working for Eggman. For someone who framed him on multiple accounts. ...For someone who actually may just deserve it. Sonic frowned and looked between Lindsey and Chuck.

"Open the doors, or I will make good of my threat and drill through them."

The two adults looked between each other, wondering if they really should. After all, like Chuck said, the doors were incredibly durable. Sonic wouldn't be able to drill through them even if he tried.

Lindsey sighed and looked at the clock. 8:10.

"One hour." She announced. "I'll give you one hour to find him. If you don't, you come straight home and forget about it. Understand?"

"Yes, I understand." Sonic sighed in agreement, even if he really didn't agree with it personally.

"Good." Lindsey turned to Chuck and nodded. "Open the doors, five seconds only. It's time for Sonic to be a hero again."

**…**

Sonic stood nervously in front of the open door, waiting for the bullet proof steel doors to open up to the chaos ravishing outside.

One hour.

One hour was all Lindsey was giving him the moment he stepped outside to find Shadow and get back home. Five seconds was all she was giving him to get outside once the doors started opening. That was more than enough for him to get outside, but once he's out there, stealth was gonna have to be his best friend to avoid the Purgers, and stealth meant he had to be slow.

Suddenly, one hour didn't seem to be enough time to scour the entire city for his black and red rival.

"Are you ready to go?" Tails asked him.

"Yes, I'm ready." Sonic nodded.

"Are you sure you can do this?"

"I have to. I have to at least try. If not… then what kind of hero am I?"

"Shadow's not going to appreciate it. You know that, right?"

"Do you think I care? He can be mad at me all he wants, I'm not leaving him out there the moment I find him. In fact, once I find him, I'm gonna slap the crap outta him for being so stupid."

"Heh, sounds about right." Tails chuckled. "Think you can actually do it under one hour?"

"I hope so." Sonic sighed. "I've never done a stealth mission before, but I really hope I can pull it off."

"... Me too." Tails nodded and turned to his communicator, who had Chuck waiting for his cue on the other side. "Go ahead and open the doors, Chuck, Sonic's ready."

"Roger that, Tails." Chuck answered back.

At that moment, a quick buzzing noise went around the house and quickly stopped when the steel doors started opening. The countdown began.

5

The door was only an inch off the ground.

4

The door had reached Sonic's shin.

3

"Good luck, Sonic." Tails said to him.

2

"Thanks Tails." Sonic smiled back, the door was just open enough for him to barely fit through.

1

Quickly, Sonic slid under the door and barrel rolled outside, sighing in relief as the door just barely slammed back down onto his tail. He stood up from the ground and looked at the watch Nelson had equipped him with for this mission.

8:15, Sonic had until 9:15 to find Shadow.

"Time to hunt down a hedgehog."


	5. Hell Risen

**Chapter 4: Hell Risen**

Sonic kept to the shadows as he crept through the neighborhood, glad that his royal blue fur was dark enough to blend in with the darkness.

He went slowly and stealthily, refusing to speed up at the risk of someone hearing him and being discovered. It surprised him. He never thought he would ever be afraid to go fast.

As he searched for his rival, he tried to block out the screams of innocents dying, and the gunshots responsible for it. He tried to ignore the shouts of angry men and women as they smashed into homes and dragged families out by their hair. He cringed in disgust as he had to force himself to bypass the sounds of vulgar men raping a sobbing woman.

'Chaos help me find Shads and get the HELL outta here!'

Sonic looked at his watch. It was already 8:30. He only had 45 minutes left to find Shadow and get back to the house. Sonic shuddered. He didn't want to think about what might happen if he didn't make it back in time. Lindsey might not allow the door to be opened at all!

"Shadow, where are you?" He whispered to himself.

Suddenly, the blue hedgehog heard a click and he froze as he felt the barrel of a gun being pressed against the back of his head.

"Don't. Move."

Sonic held his hands up in surrender, praying that whoever was behind him showed mercy and spared his life. He was a hero. The only one capable of fighting Eggman. Why on EARTH would he have a target on his back?!

"Well, well, well." The raspy voice of a man chuckled. "What do we have here? It's none other but Earth's little mutated 'hero', Sonic the Hedgehog."

"P-Please…" Sonic whimpered. "Don't…"

"Shut the fuck up!" The man behind him hissed as he pressed the gun harder against the back of the hedgehog's skull. "What are you doing out here anyway? It's Purge Night, which means all crime is legal. There's not a fucking thing you can do, hedgehog. Why, I could kill you right now and no one would bat an eye at me, because it's legal."

"Please don't…" Sonic softly sobbed, terrified for his life. "Please have mercy."

"Mercy?!" The man laughed. "Would you have mercy on me if I had killed on a night other than tonight? Would you simply let me go after seeing that?!"

"I didn't do anything."

"No, not yet. But hey, who's to stop you come tomorrow morning, when you come looking for me, knowing that I'm a killer?"

"I don't even know what you look like. You're behind me."

"Should've watched your back, hedgehog." The man snickered. "I wonder… after I kill you… who will stop Eggman now? Guess we'll just have to wait and see, will we?"

As he said that, something inside Sonic snapped. This man was gonna kill him, but he wasn't gonna go down without a fight.

"You won't get away with this." He hissed. "You think I haven't been in a position like this before? Think again."

Suddenly, Sonic did a quick roundhouse kick, slamming his foot across the man's wrist, knocking the gun out of his hand. The weapon made a loud clattering noise as it fell onto the ground.

"DAMMIT!" The man shouted as he tried to dive for the gun, but the hedgehog was too quick for him. Sonic quickly kicked the gun out of reach, straight into a sewer drain. "NO! You'll pay for that, hedgehog!"

Wasting no time, Sonic spin dashed at the man. The attack caught the man off guard, and the sheer force of it was enough to send him flying back. He slammed against a dumpster, hitting the back of his head against it, knocking him out.

Sonic cringed, scared to death that the noise was gonna attract another Purger. He waited a few minutes, despite his time limit, praying to the Earth's God that nobody heard that. When nothing happened, he sighed in relief. Then, he looked over to the man, currently unconscious.

The man was young, perhaps in his late twenties. He had short, brown hair and a 5 o'clock shadow beard to match. He was wearing a maroon hoodie over a dark green t-shirt, black jeans, and black steel toed boots. Sonic was gonna have to make sure to stay out of this man's way when he goes back home.

Speaking of which, the hedgehog quickly checked his watch again. 8:40.

"Shoot." He hissed to himself. That whole ordeal took 20 minutes off his time. Now he only had 25 minutes left to find Shadow and get home. "Shadow, I hope you're around here somewhere."


	6. Cutting It Close

**Chapter 5: Cutting It Close **

10 more minutes passed and Sonic was freaking out. He only had 15 minutes left to find Shadow and it was proving to be more difficult than he expected. The black and red hedgehog was still nowhere to be seen.

"Shadow where the hell are you?!" He hissed as loudly as he dared.

Suddenly, a bullet whizzed past him, startling him so badly he fell back onto his butt.

"SHIT!" He shouted, all thoughts of being quiet being pushed to the back of his mind. He was already caught, why be quiet now?

"W-Who's there?" Asked a shaky voice, filled with terror and desperation. It came from the direction the bullet had. "A-Are you a Purger? P-Please, don't hurt m-me."

"I'm not gonna hurt you." Sonic promised. "As long as you don't shoot at me again. I promise. My name is Sonic the Hedgehog. What's yours?"

"Sonic?"

Suddenly, out of the shadows, hiding behind a bunch of cardboard boxes, came Shadow the Hedgehog. The poor thing looked absolutely terrified. His hands were shaking has he held the gun, his eyes were bloodshot and filled with terror. Tear-streaks stained his muzzle, and he was putting most of his weight on his left leg, his right foot just barely touching the ground. His body was covered in cuts and bruises, and some of his quills were missing too, seeming to have been ripped out.

Suddenly, all the anger Sonic felt towards the black and red hedgehog before evaporated, turning into worry.

"Shadow," He whispered as he cautiously approached his rival, trying not to scare him any more than he already was. "Are you ok? What happened?"

Shadow sniffed and dropped the gun, the weapon clattering to the pavement. He hugged himself and started to shake as he slowly allowed himself to walk over to his blue rival, his right leg limping. Suddenly, he was leaning into Sonic's arms, silently begging to be held as small tears dripped slowly down his face. Sonic quickly caught on and wrapped his arms around him, pulling him into a tight, comforting hug.

"What happened?" He asked again.

"*Sniff* I should've listened." Shadow sniffed. "I never should've left the fortress. The doctor was right. It's too dangerous out here, even for me."

"Shadow…"

"I was jumped, Sonic." The ebony hedgehog weeped. "The moment I stepped into the city, a big gang of Purgers attacked me. It was like they were waiting for me, or something. There was too many of them, and I wasn't coordinated enough to throw a Chaos Spear or Spin Dash them. They punched, kicked, and slashed at me with their knives. Their leader had a gun and he was gonna shoot me, but I managed to finally get away. I ran, but the guy shot at me regardless. The bullet hit the back of my leg."

"Is that why you're limping?" Sonic asked him. Shadow nodded. "Gosh, I'm so sorry, Shadow."

"Don't be, it's not your fault, it's mine." Shadow sniffed, shaking his head. "I'm the one that decided to come out on Purge Night, despite all the warnings the humans gave me. Speaking of which, what are you doing out here?"

"Well, I was looking for you, actually." Sonic gently smiled. "We all had a feeling you'd get yourself into trouble, and I couldn't just leave you out here."

"... But, why?" Shadow was confused. "After everything I've done, why would you want to help me?"

"Because believe it or not, Shads, I do care about you. I've always cared about you, and I always will."

Shadow's cheeks flushed and he gave a small smile, closing his eyes as he hugged the blue hedgehog.

"Thank you." He whispered.

"Heh, no problem Shads, but we better get going, Lindsey put me on a time limit." Sonic looked at his watch, his face turning pale when he saw he only had 7 minutes left to get home. "Shoot, we're cutting it a bit close. Did you at least find _one_ Chaos Emerald?"

"No. The gun was all I found, and it only had one bullet in it, which I wasted when I tried to shoot you. Sorry about that, by the way."

"It's ok, Shadow. I understand you were scared." Sonic thought for a moment. "Can you run?"

"I can barely walk with this limp, let alone run." Shadow growled, reminding Sonic of the hedgehog he's more familiar with.

"Then I'm sorry, but I have no choice but to carry you." Sonic shook his head. "We got 6 minutes to get back home, otherwise Lindsey might not let us inside. Our best bet of getting there is to run, but if you can't, then I have to carry you."

"... Ok, I understand." Shadow nodded in agreement.

"Good, now just relax."

Suddenly, as gently as he possibly could, Sonic picked Shadow up in a bridal style. Shadow held on tight to Sonic's neck, waiting for the blue hedgehog to start running.

"Hold on tight." Sonic told him, and then started running as fast as he could back to the Thorndyke Mansion.

As Sonic ran, they could both hear the terrifying sounds of Purgers noticing them. If they had more time, Sonic would've stealthed the way back home, but with only 5 minutes left in his time there was no way they were gonna make it by going slowly and stealthily.

Besides, the Purgers couldn't catch what they couldn't see, could they?

Suddenly, gunshots were heard and bullets went whizzing past his head. On instinct, Sonic brought Shadow's head into his chest.

"Keep your head down!" He commanded sternly.

Shadow didn't argue and kept his head buried into Sonic's chest, trying not to wail out in terror as more bullets were fired at them.

Guns.

Why did it always have to be guns?!

The image of his best friend being shot in the chest kept playing over and over every time a new gunshot went off, and he feared that the same thing may happen to him… or Sonic.

He didn't want it to happen and he silently urged Sonic to run faster.

"CHUCK! OPEN THE DOORS!" Sonic suddenly shouted.

Shadow looked up and realized that they had entered the Thorndyke courtyard. The rattling noise of metal doors echoed through the night. He looked towards the source and saw steel doors being opened, revealing the wooden front door and windows. As the safety doors lifted up, the front door suddenly was open and Tails and Chris were there, urging Sonic to run faster.

Putting the last energy Sonic had into his legs, the blue hedgehog ran as fast as he ever had before. He pulled Shadow closer to himself and he ducked, barrel rolling into the house, just as the doors slammed back down.

9:15.

They had barely just made it.


	7. Caring For The Injured

**Chapter 6: Caring For The Injured**

Sonic quickly ran into the living room, still carrying Shadow close to his chest.

"I NEED A FIRST AID KIT, NOW!" He shouted as he gently laid Shadow onto the couch. "WATER! TWEEZERS! STITCHING EQUIPMENT! NOW!"

"You heard him, come on, let's go go go!" Amy ordered, sending everybody off to get what Sonic needed.

"What happened?" Chuck came up, his face serious as he watched the cringing hedgehog on the couch.

"He was jumped by a gang of Purgers." Sonic explained. "He has a bullet in the back of his leg. Multiple cuts, and some of his quills had been ripped out. He needs aid now."

"I got some water, Sonic." Tails quickly came flying in, carrying a glass of water.

"Thanks Tails." Sonic took the glass and held it up to Shadow. "Here Shadow, drink this."

"Thank you." Shadow gently took the glass and sat up, drinking the water in deep gulps. When it was empty, he handed the glass back.

"Get more water, he's gonna need it." Sonic told Tails, handing the glass back to the fox.

Tails nodded and quickly flew back to the kitchen to refill the glass. At that moment, Amy came back with the first aid kit.

"Here's the first aid kit, Sonic."

"Thanks Ames. Now Shadow, I need you to lie back and try to hold still. This may sting."

Shadow nodded and laid back on the couch, watching as Sonic opened the kit and pulled out some medical alcohol wipes. He opened one pack and gently started to clean Shadow's cuts. The black and red hedgehog hissed at the stinging sensation, but otherwise held still. That's when Chris came back with the tweezers, and Knuckles the stitching equipment.

"We got tweezers and stitching equipment." Chris announced.

"Good, set them on the table." Sonic nodded to the coffee table, his focus still on cleaning the cuts.

"I got more water." Tails quickly came back.

"Good." Sonic reached into the kit and pulled out a bottle of pain pills. He poured two into his hand and gave Shadow both the pills and the water. "Take those pain pills, Shads. You'll need them. Drink that water too."

"Are you trying to fill up my bladder, hedgehog?" Shadow said in a deadpanned tone, but otherwise took the pills and drank the water.

"No, but the water will help activate the pills quicker." Sonic shook his head as he finished cleaning the last cut. "I need you to roll onto your stomach so that I can get the bullet out."

"How do you know about this stuff?" Shadow asked curiously as he complied.

"Years of fighting, you think I haven't been injured or shot before?" Sonic smirked, then hissed at the sight of the bullet wound.

It was red and angry, coated in blood. Blood was still seeping from the wound, staining the couch. Lindsey will be furious, but Sonic will deal with that later. Right now, Shadow was more important. Sonic reached for the tweezers on the table. "This may hurt, Shadow, but the pills should help." He warned. "If you need to, bite the pillow to bare the pain."

"I'll be fine, Faker, just finish the job." Shadow hissed.

Sonic nodded, wiped the tweezers with some alcohol wipes, then began to carefully stick the tweezers into the wound to get the bullet out.

"Mmph!" Shadow whimpered quietly as he felt the tweezers digging into his flesh, searching for the bullet embedded deep into the back of his leg. The pain pills helped for the most part, but it was still incredibly painful. Shadow gripped at the couch cushion as he struggled with himself not to scream, tears bubbling up in his eyes as he bared through the pain.

"I got it!" Sonic called out as he pulled the tweezers back out, along with a silver bullet. He placed it onto the used alcohol wipes and put the tweezers down. Blood was now gushing from the wound, but the blue hedgehog remained calm, simply cleaning up the mess. He grabbed the stitching equipment next and went to work sewing the wound up.

Shadow was now actually biting on the pillow like Sonic had advised, not enjoying the feeling of a needle pulling thread taut in his skin multiple times.

"Almost done… there." Sonic tied the thread and snapped it. He grabbed some gauze from the kit and wrapped it around Shadow's leg before securing it. "There, you're all done Shads. Try to stay off that leg for awhile. Unfortunately, I can't do anything about your missing quills. Those will have to grow back on their own."

"Understood. Thank you." Shadow nodded and sat up, quickly wiping the tears out of his eyes before anyone could see them. Cream came up to him and handed him another glass of water, smiling kindly. Shadow smiled back and took the water, sipping on it delicately.

"Shads what were you thinking?" Sonic shook his head in disapproval. "You were told it was dangerous out there. … You could've been killed."

"I'm fully aware of that now, hedgehog." Shadow sighed. "I was thinking that I could get the emerald locked up in the bank now that it's legal to steal it tonight."

"But that didn't work out so well, did it you little brain dead moronic rodent!"

The group looked up to the voice of Eggman and saw the rest of the adults coming in. Tanaka was carrying the laptop.

"Sonic, my couch!" Lindsey frowned in disapproval when she saw the couch covered in blood.

"Sorry Mrs. Thorndyke." Sonic smiled sheepishly. "Shadow was injured and he needed aid. I didn't know where else to put him."

"Well, I suppose it's alright." The woman sighed. "I'm just glad the two of you made it back in time."

"Me too." Sonic nodded. "Don't worry, I'll clean the blood up. A little bleach should help, right Ella?"

"Of course." Ella nodded.

"Hello! I'm still here!" Eggman shouted from the laptop. "Shadow, I know you can hear me!"

"Yes, doctor, I can hear you." Shadow nodded, his ears twitching in irritation.

"So, how did your little solo mission go, hmm?" The evil genius sneered. "I'm guessing it didn't go too well, considering that if you actual had gotten the emerald, you would've been able to Chaos Control back to the fortress."

"... No… I didn't get the emerald." He hissed, his ruby eyes burning red fire at the screen. "I was jumped by a gang of Purgers. Their leader shot me in the leg and weakened me."

"Your recklessness could've gotten you killed, Shadow. Meaning that reanimating you would've been a complete waste of time!" Eggman yelled. "I specifically told you to stay in the fortress until the Purge was over! But you, Shadow, don't like to follow orders! You simply do whatever you want!"

"I was doing this for you, Eggman!" Shadow hissed back. "For the team! Crime is legal! Nothing was stopping me from getting that emerald!"

"And yet, a weakened leg stopped you."

Shadow didn't say anything about that, because it was true. But not only did his injuries weaken him, but his fear did also… the fear that Sonic saw.

So far, the blue hedgehog hadn't said anything about his mental breakdown, and Shadow severely hoped he would keep it that way.

"Look that doesn't matter right now." Sonic interrupted. "What matters is that he's safe and he's with people that will protect him. Yeah, he made a mistake, but we all make mistakes."

"That so called mistake could've gotten him killed you blue pest!" Eggman argued.

"But it didn't, I was able to get him to safety without being caught." Sonic frowned. "A few minor injuries and a bullet to the leg is not going to keep him down. He was doing this for the team. He was being a loyal teammate to you, so stop badgering him, and be grateful that he actually risked his life for you!"

The whole room was shocked, especially Shadow. Nobody thought the blue hedgehog would actually stand up for the ebony one. It was… admirable.

"Very well." Eggman sighed. "I suppose he did learn his lesson, but Shadow, I have new orders for you now."

"And what is that?" Shadow frowned.

"You are to stay at the Thorndyke residence until the Purge is over. No going out on solo missions this time. I mean it Shadow. Stay inside."

"... Affirmative." Shadow sighed.

"Good."

As the room fell into silence, more gunshots and screams came from outside, sending shivers down the spines of those who were listening.

Sonic sighed and shook his head slowly, running a hand over his quills.

"What a tangled web we weave."


	8. What Happened?

**Chapter 7: What Happened?**

10:00 pm

Half an hour had went by.

Everybody was seated in the living room, quietly listening in agony as more gunshots and screams were heard from outside.

Shadow was sitting on the couch next to Sonic, keeping off of his leg like he was told to. He had finished the water Cream had given him, and denied a fourth glass. After all, after three glasses of water, he could feel his bladder starting to fill up. He was going to ask where the restroom was, and if he could possibly be escorted there to keep the strain off his leg, but he kept quiet, believing he could hold it a while longer.

Besides, Sonic looked like he wanted to say something, but he wasn't gonna say it on his own without encouragement.

"So..." He started, looking at the blue hedgehog. "What happened? I mean... before you find me?"

Sonic looked away a bit, hesitant to say. He really didn't want to talk about it, but everybody was staring at him now, expecting him to speak. He sighed, looking at his friends.

"It's bad out there." He started. "Real bad. Walking right by all that crime... pass all those screams of pain and terror... it was hard for me. Guys... I had to walk right on by a woman being raped, RAPED." He shuddered as he remembered that, wishing he had never seen or even heard it.

Shadow saw how much Sonic was struggling with this, and so did everybody else... but the hedgehog's ears were the ones that went down a bit, actually feeling sorry for the hero next to him. He reached a hand out and placed it over Sonic's, making the blue one look up at him in confusion. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

Sonic blinked in surprise, never before thinking that his rival would actually feel sorry for him. He sighed and nodded. "Thanks, Shadz." He sighed again. "I wasn't completely out of the dark while I was out there though."

"What do you mean?" Tails asked.

"I... I got caught, at some point."

"You got caught?!" Chris gasped. "What happened?!"

"It was just some guy looking for something to kill." Sonic shrugged. "He snuck up behind me and pressed a gun right up against the back of my head. I gotta be honest, I've never been so scared in my entire life. I actually thought I was gonna die. But I managed to knock the gun away from him and into a sewer drain and knock him unconscious. I'm not proud of it, but I wasn't gonna let him kill me."

"Good on you, Sonic." Knuckles nodded, then looked at Shadow. "And what about you?"

"Me?" Shadow frowned.

"Yeah. What happened while you were out there?"

Shadow growled. "I got jumped, echidna. What more do you want from me?"

"Certainly more than that." Knuckles frowned. "Come on. What happened?"

"Yes, I would actually like to know myself." Eggman said from the laptop.

Shadow sighed. He knew he didn't have a choice now. They weren't going to stop bothering him until he talked.

"Alright fine." He sighed. "I had just entered the city. I had no idea what I was in for. I knew that given by my reputation, I would most likely be a target, but I didn't think I would get attacked so quickly." He sighed again. "They were lying in wait. I think they knew I was going to attempt something tonight. It's Purge Night after all. Everything is legal. I can't be held accountable for anything I may do tonight. I stepped one foot into the city and they were on me like flies on rotten meat. They all had knives in their hands. Someone grabbed me by my quills. I couldn't use them to defend myself. They started teasing me, slashing and cutting at my body with their knives. I wanted to use Chaos Spear to get them away from me, but I wasn't coordinated enough to do so. Plus, they wouldn't stay still long enough for me to get a target on them. And then... their leader came out. It was a man, young. He had a gun and he was pointing it directly at my face." He blushed a bit. "I'm not proud of it, but I was actually a little scared. I thought I was gonna die at that moment. I... I panicked and kicked the man as hard as I could away from me. And then I ripped myself away from the person holding onto my quills... that's how I lost some of them. I used Chaos Spear to scare the others from trying to grab me again... and then I ran. But as I was running, the man got his bearings again and shot at me... and the bullet went into the back of my leg... I'm lucky I got away with only that much."

"Yes, you are lucky indeed." Eggman agreed.

"How did Sonic find you?" Rouge asked.

Shadow blushed again. "While I was running... I managed to find a gun. There was only one round in it, but I didn't think I would use it, but I took it with me anyway because... to be honest… I felt safer to have a gun. I thought that if I shot anybody, nobody would care because everybody had a gun. If I shot someone with a Chaos Spear, the people that were after me would find me. I was hurting. I Could not run anymore. So I found a small alleyway and hid behind some boxes. And then... I heard someone coming. I got scared all over again. They were coming closer, I thought they were coming for me. I thought I had been discovered. I didn't want to be caught, so I took the gun and shot at them. I missed, but then I heard someone shout. I told them not to come any closer... and that's when Sonic spoke up and introduced himself… and that's how he found me."

"I bet you were relieved." Chuck smiled.

Sonic and Shadow looked at each other, a small smile on their faces.

"Like you wouldn't believe."

"Well, it's all over now. We're safe as long as we stay in the house now." Lindsey sighed.

"Right. 'Cause no one has targeted you guys before, right?" Amy asked.

"That's right, Amy." Chris nodded. "And as long as nobody knows that Shadow is here, I don't see any reason why they would start now."

And then, at that moment, there was a loud banging against the steel covering the front door.


End file.
